Caffeine
by DaPokemonMadster
Summary: A RWBY story! Cardin Winchester is a bully. There's no other word for it. Among his many victims, is one Velvet Scarlatina. And her team doesn't take very kindly to bullies.
1. Provocation

**A/N: Hello everybody! Yeah, I know, this isn't an update to my main fic. Don't worry, I'm gonna get to that... eventually... But anyways, yeah, I got really, really into RWBY recently, and entered a fic swap! So this is my entry to the MontyOumProject's RT fic swap! This was my prompt:** **Team CFVY – An aftermath piece after either the first time Velvet gets bullied or after team CRDL gets ahold of her in volume 1. Do CFY comfort her? Do they track down the person(s) who hurt her?**

 **I know I'm just barely meeting the deadline with this, but heck, I'm glad I was able to do it. This was super fun to do, and hopefully I'll be able to get the second part of this two-shot out soon! I hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Monty Oum (rest in peace), and Rooster Teeth.**

"Ow, that hurts! Please, stop!"

"Hah, told you it was real."

"What a freak!"

Velvet yelped as the first year's hand clamped down on one of her ears, pain shooting through her head as he pulled at it roughly. Cardin Winchester and the rest of his team laughed cruelly, a few of them pulling faces and holding hands to their heads in mockery of her faunus ears. Her team had left lunch early, intent on using their free time to the fullest, and admittedly eager to get out of earshot of the noisy table full of first years behind them. Velvet preferred to take her time with lunch, and besides, she had been quite enjoying the banter and dramatic retelling of a dream from the wild-eyed girl with a shock of ginger hair. That is, until Cardin's team had gotten ahold of her.

They had spied her from across the dining room, faces splitting into wicked grins as they slowly made their way over towards her table. She had become nervous, sitting on the very edge of her seat with ears pricked. But had stayed where she was to put on a front of bravery. She now wished she hadn't. Velvet was used to being an object of ridicule by now, it was simply an unpleasant part of being born a faunus in this day and age. She had been subject to treatment such as this many a time, but that didn't make it hurt any less. She was painfully aware of the stares of the other students in the dining hall, and she felt hot tears in the corners of her smarting eyes as nobody came to her aid. Either due to fear of Cardin and his team, or more likely, no one cared enough to help a faunus. Finally, she managed to wrench herself out of his grasp, quickly walking away and staying thoughts of grabbing her weapon and using it on him, as sounds of derision continued to echo behind her.

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Velvet opened the door to the dorm she shared with the rest of team CFVY as quietly as she could, trying to slip in unnoticed. Though there wasn't much to distract from her entrance. The room team CFVY shared was not unlike any of the other dorm rooms in Beacon, but it was slightly more spacious to indicate their higher grade level and status. The beds were neat and occupied each of the four corners, across from each other. Beside every one was a nightstand and desk, and the various posters, books, and clothing articles strewn across the floor and walls told tale of the four members' interests.

Coco's walls were pasted with modeling photos and pictures cut from fashion magazines (it was worth being noted that she was in a few). A toolbox lay open on the bed, and Coco herself was cross-legged on the floor, fiddling around with her enormous gatling gun. Yatsuhashi's walls were bare, save for a few photos of family members, and one of the team from their first year together. His large sword had been stowed back in the weapon lockers as per the school rules (Coco was popular and well-trusted enough to be an exception, especially when it concerned weapon maintenance), and he was sitting in a meditative position on the bed across from Coco's. Fox was beside him, fingers idly constructing cat's cradles with a rubber band. His part of the room was easily the most spartan, with nothing on the walls and clothes neatly stowed in the closet. Velvet's walls were pasted with pictures of weapons she had taken, and diagrams on how to use them. Her bed was always the tidiest, and was sitting pretty in the corner, wrinkle-free.

Fox was the first to look up, his scarred face crinkling in concern as his milky white eyes found her. Despite his blindness, Fox's other senses were unparalleled, and Velvet had never ceased to be amazed at the ability of her teammate. He had taught himself to fight, stumbling his way forward, as the long scars covering him from head to toe could attest. His parents had never believed or supported his goal of becoming a huntsman, wanting to protect him, thinking he was weak. The team often shared a good laugh at how wrong they were.

Fox could tell there was something wrong immediately, from her unsteady gait and upset silence alone. There was no need for him to see her tearstained face and faltering, false smile. Yatsuhashi looked up from his book as Fox stood and walked over to Velvet. He marked the page and nudged Coco, who was deeply preoccupied by fixing a stiff trigger and casually chatting.

"Vel? What's the matter?" She asked, immediately setting her other projects aside and leading the faunus over to one of the four beds. Yatsuhashi sat down beside her, reassuring in his presence alone. When Velvet had first met him, his size had intimidated her and she had hardly said a thing to him for weeks, terrified of somehow getting on his bad side. She had learned soon after that he was a complete sweetheart to his friends and teammates. However the same couldn't be said for those fool enough to be his enemies. Fox placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, not one for words as much as actions. Coco sat across from her, on another of the beds, one leg swung over the other and arms crossed. She wore a grease-stained tank top, and she somehow managed to make the oily rag clenched in her hand seem just as dangerous as her gun.

"Oh.. n-nothing's the matter guys, really-" Velvet attempted a smile. Coco stared over the tops of her shades, disbelief etched in her features.

"Seriously Vel, what's the matter? You can tell us, you know. We're your teammates." The leader sighed, unfolding her arms and looking straight into Velvet's eyes.

"Was someone bullying you again?" Yatsuhashi rumbled, and Coco's eyes immediately narrowed. Velvet said nothing, suddenly seeming to find the clasped hands in her lap highly intriguing.

"Who was it?" Coco hissed, teeth clenching.

"N-nobody… don't worry about it, guys, really…" Velvet murmured, shrinking back a little. She was grateful for her team. Never once had any of them ever been discriminatory, or racist, and they always stood up for her when other students were. Though she didn't want them to get revenge for her, or take it too far. She might attract even more hate if she was known for running to her teammates every time someone said something nasty. Besides, she could just brush it off. She'd been doing so her whole life.

"Velvet, this keeps happening, and you haven't let us do anything about it so far." Yatsuhashi said, placing a heavy hand over hers.

"Seriously, let us help you, Vel! Who was it?" Coco added, bouncing her knee. Velvet took a deep breath, looking each of her teammates in the face.

"I-it was.. CRDL…"

"CRDL? The first year team led by that obnoxious brat in armor? What'shisname, Cardin? Freakin' tin can, I'll smash his face in-" The team leader spat, accompanied by an angry growl building in Yatsuhashi's throat.

"No, please don't!" Velvet gasped, "I don't want there to be any conflict… They're not worth it. Really. You don't need to-"

"Of course we do! I can't just stand by if one of my teammates is being harassed by racist idiots!" Coco exploded, leaping up from her bed. Fox silently nodded in agreement.

"No, please Coco! I don't want you to go after them!" Velvet raised her voice in distress. Yatsuhashi raised a placating hand, and the leader sat back down, still seething.

"You really don't want us to go teach 'em a lesson?" She asked, silently pleading to punch Cardin in the face on Velvet's behalf.

"I really don't…" The faunus girl managed in a subdued whisper. Coco sighed, but nodded in understanding.

"Thanks, anyways, you four. I'm… I'll be in the library. Studying. History, you know…" Velvet trailed off, pushing herself to her feet and grabbing her history textbook from where it had been left on her nightstand. Flashing her friends another false smile, she exited the room and stole down the hallway, trying to avoid unwelcome attention.

"...Alright, boys, I don't care what she says. If this happens again, someone's gonna be eating a knuckle sandwich." Coco muttered.

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Velvet dreaded the next day, knowing that she would be forced to see Cardin once more in her history class. She now regretted ever signing up for the course. Dr. Oobleck had approached her the previous year about joining a history class about the faunus. He had informed her that, while being mandatory for all first years, he would also be offering it to any of the older students that were interested. She had agreed to sign up, and predictably, was one of the only ones who did. Yatsuhashi, Fox and Coco said they would have, but were understandably booked with other tasks. And the rest of the upperclassmen… well no one really cared to learn about the faunus if they didn't have to.

Velvet reluctantly trudged into class, head down. She took her usual seat at the front of the room, keeping her eyes riveted on the maps tacked to the front of the classroom, ears drooping, and not daring to turn and look at Cardin. She heard him come in, talking trash about anyone and everyone in a voice loud enough for all the students to hear, but quiet enough to not reach the ears of Dr. Oobleck. He tromped over to his seat in the second row, and arrogantly threw his legs up onto the desk in front of him. The other students filed in, chatting among themselves and taking their seats. Dr. Oobleck began the lecture, slurping from a cup of what Velvet assumed to be coffee, and zooming around the room at an alarming speed. Her eyes followed him, but she barely registered anything he was saying.

"Now, have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your faunus heritage?" The doctor questioned, looking around the classroom. The question caught Velvet off guard, and she looked around the room, seeing a few tentative hands grazing the air. Slowly, she raised her own hand, keeping her eyes on a knot in the surface of the wooden desk.

"Dreadful, simply dreadful!" Oobleck continued, "Remember students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence! I mean, I mean, I mean… just look at what happened to the White Fang!" Velvet flinched as the sensitive subject was broached, tracing the words written on the paper in front of her with a finger.

"Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorists believe to be the turning point in the third year of the war? Yes?" He nodded at one of the first years behind Velvet, who had raised a hand.

"The battle at Fort Castle." She spoke out, sure and confident.

"Precisely!" The doctor, now back behind his desk babbled excitedly, "And, who can tell me the advantage the faunus had over General Legume's forces?" A yelp came from the other side of the room, and everyone turned to look at the scraggly blond boy, Jaune, who had made the noise. The doctor leaped at the chance, zipping over to where Jaune was sitting.

"Mister Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is excellent, excellent! What is the answer?" Oobleck exclaimed.

"Uh… the answer…" Jaune began, looking desperately at Velvet's side of the room and pleading for help with his eyes, "The advantage, uh, the faunus had… over that guy's… stuff…" Velvet heard the clearing of a throat behind her, and guessed that someone had finally taken pity on the kid and was throwing him a lifeline.

"Uh… binoculars!" He finished. Laughter erupted from the rest of the students, and the doctor sipped from his cup with an unreadable expression on his face. Velvet sighed inwardly. It grated on her nerves, sometimes, to see how little interest some people showed in her people's history. She could hear him laughing now, an ugly guffaw, from behind Jaune.

"Very funny, Mister Arc. Cardin? Perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject?" Oobleck sighed, directing his attention at the ginger with a disapproving stare at his feet, still parked on the tabletop.

"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier." Cardin drawled, and Velvet felt disgust and hot anger knot in her stomach. Her knuckles went white as she clenched the edge of the desk.

"You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you, Cardin?" A voice rang out from directly behind Velvet. She immediately recognized the girl to be Pyrrha Nikos.

"What, you got a problem?" Cardin said defensively, glowering over at her.

 _Yes_. Velvet thought to herself, rolling her pencil between her pointer finger and thumb.

"No. I have the answer. It's night vision. Many faunus are known to have nearly perfect sight in the dark." Pyrrha answered quickly, and Cardin growled menacingly.

"General Legume was inexperienced, and made the mistake of trying to ambush the faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched, and the general was captured. Perhaps if he'd payed attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure." The jibe came from the girl beside Pyrrha, Blake. Cardin growled yet again and got to his feet, and Velvet smirked to herself. She liked Blake quite a bit from what she knew of her. She could tell she was a faunus, and also that she didn't want anyone to know by her bow, and the fact that she hadn't raised her hand earlier. Anyone who openly identified as a faunus had experienced some form of prejudice. Velvet sighed and gathered her things as the doctor dismissed them, feeling a slight prick of satisfaction as he called Jaune and Cardin back, and hoped, despite herself, that he would finally feel some repercussions for his actions. Still upset about what he had said, even after Blake and Pyrrha had shut him down, she trudged back to the room feeling low for the second time that week.

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This time, her teammates didn't bother questioning her. They already knew what was wrong the second she walked in the door. She was grateful they didn't make her recount it, however. They allowed her to keep up her charade, as she flashed them fake smiles and sat herself at her desk to get a head start on Dr. Oobleck's reading.

 _It's easier to train an animal than a soldier… an animal…_ Cardin's voice echoed through her mind as her eyes pored over the words on the page, retaining none of the information. It was fruitless. She sighed heavily, and snapped the book shut, pulling out her homework from Professor Port instead.

"Hey, Vel, we're heading down to dinner. Wanna come?" Coco called over to her, from where she was sprawled on her bed skimming through a magazine. Velvet shook her head, frowning at the description of a griffon in her book. Coco set the magazine down and walked over the Velvet, giving her shoulder a tight squeeze before heading out of the room and to the dining hall, followed by Yatsuhashi and Fox. Fox gave her a tight smile as he passed, and patted her arm comfortingly.

"I'll bring you something to eat." Yatsuhashi rumbled as he shut the door behind him, and Velvet acknowledged his words with a nod.

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"Alright guys. This is it, I'm done with Velvet having to take crap from Cardin and his crew and not being able to do anything about it." Coco forced out through gritted teeth, savagely impaling a pea on the end of her fork.

"I agree. But we can't do them physical harm. Velvet would never want that." Yatsuhashi agreed. Fox nodded in approval.

"Fiiiiine. Only because she's against that. He should count himself lucky… I want to deck him in the face so badly…" Coco said, holding her fork in a deathgrip.

"I know." Yatsuhashi smiled, "But while we can't do physical harm, who's to say we can't get him mentally?"

"You mean… scare him or something?" Coco sounded out slowly. Her giant teammate nodded. Fox smiled.

"You might just have the ghost of a great idea there, Yatsu." She grinned, eyes blazing with excitement and anger, "Alright. Let's get planning, then."

 **A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you're enjoying it thus far, this is my first time writing a fanfic for RWBY. Once again, thank you to the MontyOumProject for putting this together! I hope to have the conclusion to this little two-shot out soon, and reviews are greatly appreciated!**

 **Keep moving forward!**


	2. Retaliation

**A/N: Okay... so I know, it's been like... _months_ since I said I'd try and post this, I am so sorry. I've been dealing with life and also some seriously sucky writer's block that has rendered me in an un-creative mood. Or, I guess I should say that I'm feeling creative, but I'm not in the writing groove and just can't get into it no matter what. BUT, hopefully with this I've vanquished it and can get to actually posting stories again! Heeeeere we are, the conclusion to Caffeine! (This was written to a soundtrack consisting of only _Caffeine_ and _I'm the One_ hhhaaah)**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth Productions, and _not_ myself.**

"Hmmm." Coco grunted, slumping over one of the many tables in Beacon's library and idly tapping her finger on the cover of a book. She took her shades off and sat up straight, sighing deeply.

"Well we've got the basic idea, but have either of you come up with anything more specific over the past half-hour? Cuz I've got nothing." She mumbled, brushing a few stray hairs out of her face. Fox shook his head, and Yatsuhashi scratched the back of his, face crinkled in concentration. The three of them had scurried off to the library after dinner to try and brainstorm anything that could be used as a scare-tactic against Cardin. The building was dimly lit and quiet, since many of the younger students had headed back to their dorm rooms for Study Hall. Only a few upperclassmen remained, haunting the AP Grimm studies and History sections, unkempt hair and bags under their eyes telling of the large amounts of stress they were under. The holo-monitors were glowing softly and casting strange, unidentifiable shadows into the nooks and crannies of the huge room. The upper reaches of the library were hidden in darkness, and through the windows the last fingers of sunlight slipped beneath the horizon. Coco glanced at her watch, painfully aware of a huge paper she still had yet to begin. With an angry sigh, she stood up.

"Well I can't think of anything, and I have far too much work to do to be sitting around. I'll keep trying to think of something good while I'm at it, though. Let me know if you come up with any ideas." Coco said, and with a frustrated huff she grabbed her bag, swung it over her shoulder, and took one last look around, "Getting pretty creepy in here, anyhow." And with that, she took her leave. Yatsuhashi carefully pushed in the chair she had occupied as soon as the clicks of her heeled boots had faded away.

"Well there's an idea." He rumbled, and Fox turned towards him curiously, "Library looks pretty creepy in the dark," he shrugged in answer, "not enough to go off of, though." Fox nodded thoughtfully. A few more minutes passed in silence. Finally, Fox stood and tapped Yatsu on the shoulder.

"It's getting late." He stated simply. Yatsuhashi glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, squinting to make out the time.

"You're right. Let's get going." He grunted. The two stood, a mutual dissatisfaction at being unable to come up with an answer hanging in the air.

...

In the two days that followed, Cardin's attention seemed to have been diverted from Velvet to another subject, one Jaune Arc. While this did look to be a step in a better direction, at least for Velvet, Coco was still bent on revenge. Both Yatsuhashi and Fox had to grab the strap of her handbag in fear of her leaping at the bully whenever they passed him in the halls. Velvet was still distant, though she was obviously making an effort to try and appear her usual, cheery self. Her teammates all gritted their teeth whenever she departed for Dr. Oobleck's class, and Coco, despite her immense workload, would stay up even after her work was finished for the night and read horror stories, hoping an idea would come to her. Velvet didn't seem to suspect anything, which they were all grateful for, however she always chided Coco for not getting enough sleep whenever their leader started to nod off in class. On the third day, all of the first years were taken on a field trip to the Forever Fall forest, leaving Velvet the only member of her history class. Doctor Oobleck had informed her that there was no need for her to attend class, since she would be the only one there and that seemed rather pointless, and in addition, had granted her a night of no homework.

Velvet let out a small sigh of relief as the bell rang, signaling the start of the next class. She packed away her books and stood up, blinking hard and stretching to banish the tiredness that always seemed to creep up on her whenever she had a class with Professor Port. His classes just… weren't quite as gripping as he led himself to believe. Then she grinned, realizing that she had an extra free period, and had gone a whole day without having to lay eyes on Cardin. She slung her bag over her shoulder, and practically skipped down the hall, wending her way through the mad stampede of students clogging the halls. Velvet decided to go back to the dorm and drop her bag off first. She normally had a free period after her history class, which was cancelled, meaning that she was done with classes for the day and had no obligations until dinner. Hence, no need for her books. With a spring in her step and head held high, she rushed back to the room, fumbling for her keys and throwing open the door. She shrugged her bag off her shoulders, and set it down neatly beside her desk. Then she kicked off her shoes and flopped on her bed, smiling and wondering what she was going to do with herself for the remainder of the day.

"Oh, hey! Glad to see you looking chipper!" A voice came from her left. The faunus nearly leapt out of her skin and spun around to see Coco sprawled across the bed on the other end of the room, grinning at her from over the top of a Vogue magazine.

"C-Coco! What're you doing here? Don't you have class right now?" Velvet squeaked. Her leader shrugged.

"Yeah, but it's Prof. Peach. She'll it slide. It's only one day, and besides, it's Battle Dress class. I get straight A's just for showing up." It was true, Coco was in the know about everything to do with dressing for battle. Or just dressing in general. Her fashion sense was unparalleled, and her skill in the field quite remarkable.

"Well… is there a reason you're ditching class? Or do you just need a break?" Velvet inquired.

"Oh, there's a reason alright," Coco said as she sat up, "It's you."

"Come again?"

"You're the reason, Velv. I'm worried about you. We all are. And as the leader of Team CFVY, I need to make sure my teammates are _actually_ okay. Not just putting up a front to try and get me to drop the subject." She accentuated her statement with a stern look over the top of her shades. Velvet dropped to the bed with a sigh.

"To be perfectly honest, Cardin's been really getting to me this past week," She admitted, shoulders sinking in defeat, "I... already told you I didn't want you fighting him, that'll only make things worse. And… well, I guess I knew you all would try something if he kept bugging me. So I tried seeming cheery to stop you going after him…" She glanced back at Coco and noticed her hands curling into fists, "B-but don't worry! You're right, I _am_ feeling good today! He's out with the rest of the first years, you know. A… a field trip, or something."

"He's been affecting you this much?" Coco said in a low growl, raw anger seeming to grip her when Velvet gave a tiny nod.

"I-I wish he didn't.. I wish I could shrug it off and not let it get to me. I wish I could just get him out of my head and ignore him, or.. or _something_! But I can't, and I think that's the worst thing about him. I can't get him out and I can't get him to stop. And like I said earlier, if you fight him, he'll _never_ leave me alone! And to be honest, I'm- I'm scared. I'm so frustrated that he can scare me like this. He's just some… some ignorant _bully_ that doesn't think about anything that comes out of his mouth, and yet… he terrifies me." Velvet bit her lip as it all came pouring out, eyes smarting with unshed tears. She hadn't quite grasped how Cardin made her feel until she had voiced it, finally been able to put words to everything. Coco got up, concern written all over, and quickly sat next to Velvet, throwing a comforting arm around her shaking shoulders and pulling her teammate into a hug.

"Velv… I didn't know it was this bad. If I had… I would've done something about him long ago." Coco murmured. Velvet immediately pulled away.

"Coco! I just told you, you can't fight him! Please, don't! I can ignore him, I can-"

"Hey now, who ever said I was gonna fight him?" Coco cut her off with a grim smile, "Don't you worry, I know you don't want me to take him out with force. So I won't. If I do anything to him, it'll be up here." The team leader tapped her head, and grinned.

"You can't insult him either! It won't work if that's what you're planning!" The faunus blurted, starting to breathe a little faster.

"That's not what I'm planning, don't worry. You had a lot of trust in me to tell me everything, now can I ask you to have just a little more? And also… will you promise to tell me if he ever does anything to you again?" Coco clasped Velvet's hands, staring her right in the eyes. She slowly nodded.

"I.. I do trust you. I trust you and Fox and Yatsu more than anyone, but-"

"Look, I know he's the absolute worst. And I know you're scared of him coming after you again and making fun of you for being weak or some crap-"

"I _will_ look weak if I go to my teammates! If I can't just brush him off like his words mean nothing-"

"Velvet, listen to me. Asking for help is _not_ weak. We want to help you, we want to protect you, our teammate. I speak for the three of us when I say that we can't stand that idiot messing with you any longer. Look, we're not going to beat him up, we're just going to… to scare him. Give 'im a taste of his own medicine. And I _promise_ he won't come after you again after this. Velv, you don't have to keep up this front of being strong, we already _know_ how strong you are! You don't need to prove anything to him, he's not worth it. As long as the ones that matter know, _you don't need to play his game_." Velvet was silent for a moment, then looked back up at Coco with swimming eyes.

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay," The faunus sighed, closing her eyes, "Okay, alright. You… get him back for me... please?"

"You bet. Thank you, Velvet." The leader smiled, and pulled her teammate into another hug.

"No, thank _you_. I'm… I was being stupid…"

"Nah, you were just forced to be strong for far too long. And… okay, you were being a little stupid too."

"Coco!"

"Haha! Kidding!"

"Coco…"

"Yeah?"

"Doesn't your next class start soon?"

"OH CRAP."

...

The first years returned that evening, just in time to grab a late dinner and chat a bit about the day's events before heading up to their dorms to do homework. They came in with even more noise and vigor than usual, and that was saying something, since this group was a _particularly_ loud bunch. Fox would know. Especially those two girls, what were their names? Yang and Nora? They seemed to like yelling. A lot. In fact, they were doing it at that very moment. Nora was hooting and hollering her way across the dining hall, and from the sound of it was running along the table tops and bouncing on the benches. Fox sighed, hoping that quiet friend of hers would stop her. This was why he tended to leave meals early nowadays. He reached for his plate, intending to take it up and go find his teammates, and tried to decipher whatever it was the girl was screaming about.

"Can you BELIEVE it!? An Ursa Major! Not just an Ursa, and _Ursa Major_! Jaune, you killed an Ursa Major out there!"

"Yes Nora, I think he gets it." Came the voice of her partner, that Ren kid.

"Haha, thanks Nora." That was Jaune. Fox was duly impressed. He was under the impression that Jaune was somewhat of a wimp, and not very handy with a weapon. How he'd managed to become a team leader was beyond him.

"Still, I can't believe you sent me to find Goodwitch, I wanted to _be_ there! Oh, I wish I could've seen the look on Cardin's face-" Fox's ears pricked at the sound of the hated name. What did Cardin have to do with all this…? Abandoning the plate, he maneuvered himself around the dining hall and towards team JNPR. He identified the next voice as the young leader of team RWBY, Ruby Rose.

"Yeah, you really should've seen him! Jaune did so well, he was like 'Raaahh!' and jumped at it, and totally deflected its claws and stuff with his shield, then sliced off its head!"

"Wish I'd been there! Honestly I'm having a hard time believing that this guy did all that!" Ruby's sister, Yang teased.

"Hey! I really did do it! If you don't believe me, ask Pyrrha! She was there! A-and Weiss!" Jaune again.

"I'm kidding! I know Ruby wouldn't lie about that!" Yang chuckled. Fox reached out a hand, touching the shoulder of Pyrrha Nikos. He figured she'd give him the straightest answers.

"Oh! Hello! Did you need something from me?" Said her surprised, cheery voice.

...

Velvet stretched, raising her arms above her head and letting out a sleepy groan as she cracked her back. After Coco had rushed off in a flurry to her next class, she had ultimately decided on taking a nap. It seemed like the most inviting course of action, and sleep came much easier after her reassuring talk with her leader. She felt as if some giant, pressing weight had been lifted from her chest and she could breathe again. Her teammates were there for her. They were going to stop Cardin once and for all, and he wouldn't come near her or say anything to her ever again. She really did have the best team in the world. She checked the alarm clock on the bedside table, and realized that dinner would be coming to an end soon. She would have to hurry if she wanted to grab a bite to eat. Grabbing her uniform blazer, she swung open the door and quickly paced down the hallways towards the mouthwatering smell of food.

Turning the corner, she saw that the first years had returned from the Forever Fall forest, and the majority were helping themselves to heaping plates of dinner and exchanging words and laughter. Out of habit, Velvet scanned the room for any sign of Cardin and his team, breathing a deep sigh of relief when she didn't see them. She slid into the buffet line, ears twitching at the yells of teams RWBY and JNPR. It was when she had taken a seat at her usual table with a nice salad that she saw him. He entered from the opposite side of the hall, face stormy, and looking surlier than she had ever seen him. Something had gotten him mad, and that never boded well for his usual victims. Immediately, a feeling of dread washed over her, and she put her head down, praying he wouldn't notice her. He did. Sometimes she really hated her ears, they were always a dead giveaway. One of his teammates, Russel, nudged his shoulder and he looked around, finding her gaze. Cardin scowled, and started towards her. Velvet felt her breathing speed up, and hated it. Hated every minute she lived in terror of this ignorant brute, putting up with his antics and not once finding the courage to stop him. She hated that she needed to lean on her teammates so heavily, but found herself wishing that for once… for once in her life somebody else could deal with the constant discrimination and hate being thrown her way. That somebody else would stand up for her and stop it all, that somebody would make her feel safe again.

"Hey, you-"

"Hey, _you_." Cardin's growl was cut off by the familiar rumble of Yatsuhashi. The younger boy's eyes went wide at the sight of the hulking upperclassman, and he stopped short, before seeming to regain his composure.

"What d'you want?" He asked Velvet's teammate, eyebrows knitting together in an scowl.

"I want to know why you won't leave my teammate alone." Yatsu said, placing one of his large hands on Velvet's shoulder.

"Who, that faunus? She's _your_ teammate? What, and do you actually _like_ being teamed up with her?" Cardin scoffed, and his three teammates let out an ugly cacophony of guffaws behind him.

"I _reaaaally_ don't appreciate you talking to members of my team like that." Said a dangerously sweet voice. Coco sat herself on Velvet's other side.

"Well you can't control what I say." The bully said, crossing his arms and sneering.

"Bet you'd listen to me if I knocked your teeth out." Coco said calmly. Velvet was suddenly aware of Fox's presence behind her.

"You wouldn't dare." Cardin said.

"Just try me," Coco hissed, "in fact, why don't you? Midnight, in the library."

"Coco!" Velvet whispered in shock. Her leader glanced at her over the top of her shades, winked, and mouthed 'trust me.' The faunus lapsed into silence.

"What're you gonna do if I don't show? Whine to a teacher? That'd only get you in trouble." Cardin spat.

"Make sure all the upperclassmen know how that Jaune kid one-upped you in the forest, find you later, and knock your teeth out anyway. Win-win for me if you don't, honestly." Coco replied. The boy's lip curled at her quick response.

"W-well if you guys don't come, I get to tell the whole school how you're a bunch of cowards." He faltered slightly in the face of Coco's cool response, then he turned on his heel and left. Velvet found she could breathe again.

"Wow, what a loser. Even his comebacks suck." Coco said in distaste.

"C-Coco… you guys aren't… you're not going to…fight him…?" Velvet said shakily.

"Velv, I promised, didn't I? Don't worry." Her leader said with a genuine smile. The faunus suddenly found herself enveloped in a group hug, Fox and Coco pressed up against her while Yatsuhashi's huge arms encircled the three of them.

...

"Alright, and you're sure this'll work?" Coco asked, glancing up at Fox and Yatsuhashi over the tops of her shades.

"Based on what Fox overheard, we're pretty positive," Yatsuhashi nodded, "Do you think you can do it in this amount of time?"

"Oh _please_. Who do you think I am? If it's related to clothing, just leave everything to me." Coco snorted, and Fox chuckled.

"I'll get started on it right away. You guys just get everything else prepared, yeah?"

"Got it." Yatsuhashi and Fox turned towards the door of their room.

"Oh, where's Velvet?" Coco asked, and Yatsu paused.

"She'll be along soon. She told me she was going to go to bed early." He said. Fox nodded in confirmation.

"Okay. I'll take my work to Peach's classroom. Give her some space. Plus all the materials I need are in there. Midnight, got it? Have everything ready by then." Coco said, slipping to her feet and exchanging a grim smile with Yatsu and Fox. The three of them marched into the hallway together, before Coco split off. The other two began to make their way towards the library.

...

 _ **Beacon Library, 12:00 am.**_

Coco glanced at the barely illuminated clock hanging on the wall, shuddering slightly at the looming shadows splashed across the floors and bookshelves. A smirk spread across her face as she heard the unmistakable mutterings and shufflings of a group of uneasy teenage boys.

"Glad you could make it." She called out.

"Whoa!"

"Wh-who's that!?"

"Shut it, Dove."

"Ow, watch it Russel!"

"Who do you think it is?" Coco rolled her eyes.

"Oh, r-right. It's only you." Cardin gulped, his decidedly nervous face appearing out of the gloom. Coco gave him a devilish smile, knowing the lighting was in her favor, an intimidating glow of light playing across her face, courtesy of one of the holo-monitors that someone had neglected to turn off. He took a nearly undetectable step backwards, and raised his fists. She was very much enjoying watching him squirm.

"Where are your teammates?"

"In bed, snoring their heads off." Coco shrugged.

"They're not.. Here?" Cardin asked warily, his shifty eyes scanning the surroundings, as if Yatsu or Fox might leap out from in between the bookshelves.

"Nah, I figured it wouldn't take all of us to take you four on."

"You-" Cardin's face purpled, a ghastly sight in the dim light. Coco sat herself down on one of the tables, adopting a casual position.

"Yeah, in fact, I don't even need to be the one fighting you, as much as I'd love to sink my fist into your face."

"What're you talking about?" Russel growled.

"Well… I thought I'd just leave the fighting bit… to that guy." Coco jerked her thumb into the gaping darkness behind her. The boys shared puzzled glances that were quickly replaced with looks of horror as the unmistakable growl of an Ursa filled the room.

"Wh-wha… you don't… what are you playing at?!" Cardin said in a high pitched voice. The growl was joined by the sound of clanking chains, and a form began to emerge from the shadows. The members of team CRDL stood their ground for all of three seconds as a fully grown Ursa Major stepped out from behind Coco.

"Hey, meet-" But Coco never got the chance to finish. With undignified shrieks of terror, they turned on their heels and fled from the library.

"SUCK IT, FOOLS!" Coco yelled after them.

"That went even better than planned," Yatsuhashi rumbled, taking off the Ursa mask, "well done on this costume, Coco." Fox appeared, grinning and holding the length of chain he'd been rattling.

"Heh, that was perfect. Thanks guys! I doubt those chump's will be bothering our Velvs after this!"

"And who is going to believe them when they try and tell the school that team CFVY has a pet Ursa?" Yatsu shook with mirth.

"Yeaaah, might wanna get rid of that costume before anyone finds it though, Yatsu, and make sure to turn off those recorded Ursa growls." Coco grinned, throwing an arm around Fox's shoulder and grabbing for Yatsuhashi's elbow, "Alright then, let's go tell Velvet all about our midnight adventure!"

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! I had fun writing the conclusion, even though I procrastinated on it for _months_.. ahhaha... Anyhoo, reviews are very much appreciated, and have a good rest of your day! Thank you for reading! :D**


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